Melissa McCarthy Takes Fashion Into Her Own Hands By Starting Her Own Plus-Size Clothing Line

Melissa McCarthy had a right to be mad when even a freaking Oscar nomination couldn’t get a bunch of snooty fashion designers to agree to make a dress that fit her and looked good, but instead of getting mad she’s decided to solve the problem herself by starting a new, plus-size fashion line. Because if those designers won’t make her a dress, she’ll make her own. And then she’ll make dresses for everyone else, too.

When she couldn’t get anyone to dress her for the Oscars because she’s not a standard sample size, McCarthy eventually went with a ready-to-wear dress from Marina Rinaldi. For the Emmys in 2011, however, she decided to collaborate with couturier Daniella Pearl on a custom dress she called “wildly comfortable.” Now she and Pearl are going to work together on a ready-to-wear line that will presumably have the bonus effect of making sure McCarthy never has to go without a perfect dress again.

Unlike a lot of celebrity fashion designers, McCarthy actually has a lot of experience in fashion design. She even has a degree from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. Back in 2011 she told Us Magazine:

“I went to school for clothes and textiles, so I always thought I was going to do women’s clothing anyway. [Then I went] from FIT to doing standup, so I feel like I am going back to it.”

McCarthy’s design background should make everyone optimistic about her line’s future offerings, as should the fact that she looked utterly gorgeous in the dress she designed with Pearl.

According to Elle, McCarthy and Pearl’s new line will be called Pearl. It will be a plus-size line that will hopefully provide more fashionable, on-trend, and “wildly comfortable” options for plus-size customers, and McCarthy says she hopes it will “help women feel good about themselves.”

Given the awesomeness of the design team behind it, we think there’s every reason to be optimistic.